Explosive-engine.



No. 7|2,os7. Patenfed Oct. 28,. I902.

' c. 5., meus.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

(Application filed Apr. 16,1902.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EDWARD INGLIS, OF CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND.

EXPLOSlVE-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 712,067, dated October 28, 1902.

Application filed April 16, 1902.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES EDWARD ING- LIS, a subject of the King of England, residing at Cambridge, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Engines, Pumps; and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to balanced engines or pumps, the object being accomplished in an eifective manner without the use of balance-weights.

According to this invention cylinders are mounted end to end in pairs, each cylinder being provided with two pistons, and work is done on the crank-shaft by all the pistons.

The principle of this invention is applicable to engines of several different types whether operated by steam or the like, by compressed air or water, or by the combustion in the cylinder of an explosive mixture.' The improved system of balancing may also be applied to pumps, air-compressors, and the like.

In constructing an explosion-engine in accordance with this invention two cylinders are placed one in line with another, with two pairs of related pistons therein, one piston of each pair in one of said cylinders and the other in another of said cylinders, one of these pistons in its cylinder and one of them in the other cylinder being relatively immovable, there being an operative connection of un-- changing length between the inside piston in one cylinder say the first cylinder-and the outside piston of the second cylinder and a similar operative connection of unchanging length between the inside piston in the second cylinder and the outside piston of the first cylinder, whereby the relative immovability of the pistons of each pair is insured. On the crank-shaft, which turns in hearings on a bed-plate carrying the cylinders, are opposite cranks one hundred and eighty degrees apart and in balance with each other about the crank-shaft axis, and a plurality of connecting-rods extends in diametrically opposite directions'from the opposite cranks and constitutes operative connections between each crank and a pair of the aforesaid related pistons appropriated thereto. Each one of the two main element groups of the engine constituted by one piston in any set-18.1110. 103,409. (No man.)

cylinder plus the related piston in another cylinder plus its connection thereto plus the connecting-rod appropriated to the related pistons has a mass which is preferably the same as that of the other main element group similarly constituted, and these parts are preferably of similar dimensions and of simi lar materials similarly disposed and constrained by themselvesand the cylinders and bed-plate or otherwise so arranged that the mass center of each element group moves in a direction opposite to that of the motion of the mass center of its companion similarlyconstituted main element group, and so also that the mass centers of the two groups move only through two distances, each respectively proportioned-in a proportion common to both to the mass of the companion element group traversing 'the other distance. Should the masses differ,the distances will difier. Should the masses be the same, then the distances moved through will be the same.

In the above arrangement the cylinderspaces in the two cylinders will increase and,

decrease simultaneously, and the valves are so arranged in any convenient or well-understood manner, forming in themselves and their appurtenances no part of the present invention, that while expansion is taking place in one cylinder the other cylinder is receiving its charge of explosive mixture and while one cylinder is exhausting the products of combustion the other cylinder is compressing its charge. It is thus evident that the crank-shaft will receive an impulse at every revolution of the crank, and on account of the connection between each inside piston and the-opposite outside piston the thrust due to the explosion will come on both connecting-rods equally. The connecting-rods are then not only always in thrust, but the thrust in one rod is constantly equal to that IOO by steam, compressed air, or the like, in which case each piston receives an impulse at every revolution of the crank, or in the case of a pump, air-compressor, or the like, the cylinders are mounted end to end, as before. In these cases, however, the two inside pistons are connected together and the two outside pistons are also in rigid connection, and we thus obtain, as in the previous case, two reciprocating parts of equal mass. One connecting-rod is in operative connection with the inside piston of one engine, and the other connecting-rod is joined to the outside piston of the opposite engine. The space for steam or other operative fluid will thus be increasing in one cylinder while it decreases in the other, so that while expansion takes place in one cylinder the opposite cylinderis exhausting. The crank-shaft will therefore receive an impulse at each stroke or two impulses during one revolution, and, as before, owing to the operative connection between the two inside pistons and that between the two outside pistons the thrusts will come equally on the two connecting-rods. In this construction of engine, as in the construction previously referred to, one of the two main element groups of the engine constituted by one piston in any cylinder plus the related piston in another cylinder plus its connection thereto plus the connecting-rod appropriated to the related pistons has a mass preferably the same as that of the other main element group similarly constituted, and these parts are preferably of similar dimensions and of similar materials similarly disposed and constrained by themselves and by the cylinders and bed-plate or otherwise so arranged that the mass center of each of the two main element groups moves in a direction opposite to that of the motion of the mass center of its companion similarly-constituted main element group and so also that the mass centers of the two groups move through distances each respectively proportioned in a proportion common to both to the mass of the companion element group traversing the other distance. Should the masses difier, the distances differ reversely. Should the masses be thesa me,then the distances moved through are the same. The forces acting on the two crank-pins will again be equal and opposite at all times. The valves of the engines may be operated in the usual manner. If desired, the triple cranks may be omitted and the motion of each inside piston may be controlled from the opposite outside piston through a rock-shaft.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagram longitudinal central section of a two-cylinder engine constructed according to one method of carrying out this invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2, Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a diagram longitudinal central section of a second form. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4: 4, Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a detail of Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, which represent an explosion-engine, two similar cylinders A A are placed facing one another on opposite sides of a crank-shaft B. The cylinders and the crank-shaft are supported by the bedplate X. Each cylinder is provided with two pistons, and the inside piston O of the cylinder A is connected by two rods 0 d to the outside piston D of the cylinder A, and the inside piston O in the cylinder A is similarly connected by two rods 0 d to the outside piston D of the cylinder A, with the result that two reciprocating parts are formed, each consisting of related pistons-t'. e., an outside piston D or D, fixed to an opposite inside piston OorO plus its rods 0 dor c (1, both parts having the same mass. The power is transmitted to the crank-shaft B through two connectingrods E E, fixed to the inner pistons O C in the usual manner, the crank-pins being diametrically opposite to one another with regard to the shaft. One of the connectingrods may conveniently be duplex,like the rod E, (i1lustrated,) or may have a forked end, and the shaft will then be provided with triple cranks, as in the drawings, wherein F F F are the three cranks, two of them, F F", being appropriated to the duplex or twin rod E and the third, F, being appropriated to the rod E. The two cranks F F balance the crank F. The twin rod E balances the single rod E, and the two pairs of related pistons balance each other. Moreover, in the example illustrated all these balanced parts are symmetrically disposed, as shown, about a longitudinal central plane of the engine perpendicular to the central plane of the section, Fig. 1, so that all thrusts in the engine occur in that plane in which all motions of the moving parts of the above-described engine may be considered to take place. The inlet and exhaust valves (indicated diagrammatically at H and J and J) and the ignition-gear are situated at the center of the cylinder between the two pistons at their innermost limit of stroke. These details of the engine may be of any usual or convenient type and form no part of the present invention. In the above arrangement the cylinder-spaces in the two engines will increase and decrease simultaneously, and the valves are so arranged that while expansion is taking place in one cylinder theother cylinder is receiving its charge of explosive mixture, and while one cylinder is exhausting the products of combustion the other cylinder is compressing its charge. The desired order of these operations is secured by any convenient arrangement of operatingear, which is not here described, neither is it illustrated in the drawings, as it is obvious to any person skilled in the art and therefore need not be detailed here. It is thus evident that the crank -shaft B will receive an impulse at every revolution of the crank, and on account of the connection between each inside piston and the opposite outside piston IIO the thrust due to the explosion will come on both connecting-rods equally. The connecting-rods are then not only always in thrust, but the thrust in one rod is constantly equal to that in the other rod. The action of the crank is therefore always a pure couple, and no reciprocating forces are transmitted to the crank-shaft or to the engine-framing. Loss of power due to the inertia of the reciprocating parts is thus entirely avoided and alternating stresses of tension and compression, which usually occur in connecting-rods, are obviated.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 4, and 5, which represent an engine to be operated by steam, compressed air, or the like, in which case each piston receives an impulse at every revolution of the crank and which also represents a pump, air-compressor, or the like, the cylinders A A are mounted end to end, as before. In this construction the two inside pistons O C are connected together by an operative connection 0 0f unchanging length and rigid, and the two outside pistons D D are also in rigid connection by connections d d of unchanging length, and, as in the previous case, two reciprocating parts of equal mass are obtained. One connecting-rod E is in operative connection with the inside piston O of one engine and the other connecting-rod E, which is in two twin or similar parts, is joined to the outside piston Dofthe opposite engine by way of the connections d d to cross-pieces K, fixed upon which connection it is'pivoted, as shown in Fig. 5. Valves for admitting and exhausting the steam are situated at the center of the cylinder, as at H J J between the two pistons at their innermost limit of stroke. These valves and the means whereby they are operated form no part of this invention. The space for steam or other operative fluid will thus be increasing in one cylinder,

while it decreases in the other, so that while expansion takes place in one cylinder the opposite cylinder is exhausting. The'crankshaft B will therefore receive an impulse at each stroke or two impulses during one revolution, and, as before, owing to the operative connection between the two inside pistons and that between the two connecting-rods the forces acting on the two crank-pins will again be equal and opposite at all times. The valves of the engines may be operated in the usual manner. If desired, the triple cranks may be omitted and the motion of each inside piston may be controlled from the opposite outside piston through a rock-shaft.

The present invention is specially applicable to high-speed engines, owing to the absence of vibration, and this feature will also be of considerable advantage in motor-vehicles.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a balanced engine the combination of a crank-shaft, opposite cranks thereon one hundred and eighty degrees apart and in balance with each other about the crank-shaft axis, a support for the crank-shaft, two cylinders one in line with another and attached to said support, two pairs of related pistons, one piston of each pair in one of said cylinders and the other in another of said cylinders, one of these pistons in its cylinder and one of them in the other cylinder being relatively immovable, an operative connection of unchanging length between each said two related pistons (whereby their relative immovability is insured), and a plurality of connecting-rods extending in diametrically opposite directions fromthe opposite cranks and constituting operative connections between each crank and a pair of the aforesaid related pistons appropriated thereto, each one of the two main element groups of the engine constituted by one piston in any cylinder plus the related piston in another cylinder plus its connection thereto plus the connecting-rod appropriated to the related pis tons being constrained by itself and-the said support and cylinder to move as to its mass center in a direction opposite to that of the motion of the mass center of its companion similarly-constituted main element group and the mass centers of the said two groups being in addition constrained each by its own group and the said support and cylinders to move only through distances proportioned each respectively in a proportion common to both to the mass of its companion element group traversing the other distance.

2. In a balanced engine the combination of a crank-shaft, opposite cranks thereon one hundred and eighty degrees apart and in balance with each other about the crank-shaft axis, a support for the crank-shaft, two cylinders one in line with another and attached to said support, two pairs of related pistons, one piston of each pair in one of said cylinders and the other in another of said cylinders, one of these pistons in itscylinder and IIO one of them in the other cylinder being rela--- necting-rods extending in diametrically op-' posite directions from the opposite cranks and constituting operative connections between each crank and a pair of the aforesaid related pistons appropriated thereto, each one of the main element groups of the engine constituted by one piston in any cylinder plus the related piston in another cylinder plus its connection thereto plus the connecting-rod appropriated to the related pistons being constrained by itself and the said support and cylinders to move as to its mass center in a direction opposite to that of the motion of the mass center of its companion similarly-constituted main element group and the mass centers of the said two groups being in addition constrained each by its own group & 712,067

and the said support and cylinders to move In testimony whereof I have signed my only through two distances each proportioned name to this specification in the presence of in a proportion common to both to the mass tWo subscribing witnesses.

of its companion element group traversing CHARLES EDWARD INGLIS.

5 the other distance, all motions in the afore- \Vitnesses:

said parts of the engine taking place in a sin- WILLIAM BADGERY, t gle plane. FREDERICK PELLEW. 

